Systems and methods for continuous insect pupae sensing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for continuous insect pupae sensing are described. One example method includes receiving a flow at a singulator, the flow comprising one or more insect pupae; singulating the insect pupae into a single-file flow of insect pupae; sensing, using a sensor, insect pupae within the single-file flow of insect pupae; and incrementing a counter based on each sensed insect pupae in the single-file flow of insect pupae. One example system includes a channel defining a flow path for a flow of insect pupae; a singulator positioned within the flow path and arranged to receive the flow of insect pupae within the channel, the singulator configured to singulate the insect pupae into a single-file flow of insect pupae; a sensor positioned and arranged to sense insect pupae in the single-file flow; and a processor in communication with the sensor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to receive sensor signals from the sensor; and count a number of insect pupae based on the received sensor signals.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 62/703,085,filed Jul. 25, 2018, titled “Systems And Methods For Continuous InsectPupae Sensing,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the mass-rearing of insects.More specifically, but not by way of limitation, this disclosure relatesto systems and methods for continuous insect pupae sensing.

BACKGROUND

The mass-rearing of insect larvae can be very labor intensive. A labtechnician may manually add a number of eggs or insect larvae to aplastic tray and determine the amount of food and water to add into thetray for the insect larvae. The lab technician may hand carry theplastic tray to a storage area to store the plastic tray. Periodically,the lab technician may perform observations on the insect larvae in theplastic tray or add food and water as needed. After the larvae matureinto pupae, they may be moved from the larval rearing environment intoanother environment where they can mature into adult insects for releaseinto the wild. Each of these steps may involve significant amounts ofhuman labor, such as manually moving and emptying containers,sterilizing reusable components, etc.

SUMMARY

Various examples are described for systems and methods for continuousinsect pupae sensing. For example, one example method includes receivinga flow at a singulator, the flow comprising one or more insect pupae;singulating the insect pupae into a single-file flow of insect pupae;sensing, using a sensor, insect pupae within the single-file flow ofinsect pupae; and incrementing a counter based on each sensed insectpupae in the single-file flow of insect pupae.

One example system includes a channel defining a flow path for a flow ofinsect pupae; a singulator positioned within the flow path and arrangedto receive the flow of insect pupae within the channel, the singulatorconfigured to singulate the insect pupae into a single-file flow ofinsect pupae; a sensor positioned and arranged to sense insect pupae inthe single-file flow; and a processor in communication with the sensorand a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configuredto execute processor-executable instructions stored in thenon-transitory computer-readable medium to receive sensor signals fromthe sensor; and count a number of insect pupae based on the receivedsensor signals.

These illustrative examples are mentioned not to limit or define thescope of this disclosure, but rather to provide examples to aidunderstanding thereof. Illustrative examples are discussed in theDetailed Description, which provides further description. Advantagesoffered by various examples may be further understood by examining thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more certain examples and,together with the description of the example, serve to explain theprinciples and implementations of the certain examples.

FIGS. 1-3 show example systems for continuous insect pupae sensingaccording to this disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4B and 5-6 show example singulators for continuous insect pupaesensing according to this disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for an example method for continuous insectpupae sensing according to this disclosure; and

FIG. 8 shows an example computing device for continuous insect pupaesensing according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples are described herein in the context of systems and methods forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. Those of ordinary skill in the art willrealize that the following description is illustrative only and is notintended to be in any way limiting. Reference will now be made in detailto implementations of examples as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout thedrawings and the following description to refer to the same or likeitems.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theexamples described herein are shown and described. It will, of course,be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application- and business-related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another.

When mass rearing insects, it may be desirable to track the efficacy ofthe breeding program to ensure high yields or to identify problemsquickly so they can be addressed. Examples according to this disclosurecan provide accurate counting of insect pupae, such as during a transferof pupae from one rearing environment to another.

In an illustrative example, insect pupae (or simply “pupae”) from onerearing environment are flowed through a channel to a singulator. To doso, the pupae along with a fluid, such as water from their then-currentrearing environment are dispensed into a channel, which flows through asingulator. The singulator is a mechanical device that reduces a largeflow of pupae and fluid to a substantially single-file line of pupaewithin the fluid flow. The single-file line of pupae then passes asensor, which sense each pupae and provides a sensor signal to acomputing device. The computing device then counts each pupa. Inaddition, depending on the sensor employed, characteristics of the pupaemay be sensed, such as size, sex, or any physical anomalies present inthe pupae, such as deformities, growths, that a pupa is dead, etc.

In this example, the sensor is a camera that continuously films thesingle-file flow of pupae within a sensor area of the singulator. Theimages captured by the camera are provided to a recognition systemexecuted by the computing device that can detect the presence of aninsect pupa in an image. Using optical flow techniques, the recognitionsystem can track movement of the pupa through the sensor area, detectthe arrival of a new pupa, and the departure of the first pupa, thusenabling an accurate count of insect pupae. In addition, the recognitionsystem detects the size, sex, and any physical anomalies on each pupa asit passes through the sensor area. The computing device then creates arecord for each sensed pupa, including one or more captured images ofthe pupa as well as determined information about the pupa and itsrespective counted number within the cohort of insect pupa that passesthrough the singulator. The computing device may also store a batch orcontainer number from which the pupa was obtained or a batch orcontainer number into which the pupa is dispensed.

Such a configuration may allow not only an accurate counting of thepupae, but also per-pupa tracking from origination to destination. Thismay enable the system to track each reared insect from egg to maturationinto an adult insect and, if the insect is male, release, or, if theinsect is female, disposal. Thus, if anomalies are present in athreshold number of pupae from particular container, the rearing programcan detect a potential problem and potentially trace it back to a pointearlier in the rearing process and address any issues that may bepresent. In addition, such systems and methods for continuous insectpupae sensing according to this disclosure may enable a fully automatedcounting and transfer process from one rearing environment to another.Transfer of insect populations between different containers can be ahighly labor intensive process, involving dozens of persons to properlyhandle and process each population, including associated record keeping.

This illustrative example is given to introduce the reader to thegeneral subject matter discussed herein and the disclosure is notlimited to this example. The following sections describe variousadditional non-limiting examples and examples of systems and methods forcontinuous insect pupae sensing.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. The system 100 includes an insect pupaecontainer 110 in which a population of insect pupae is maintained. Thecontainer 110 is physically connected to one end of a channel 120 thatcan receive a flow of pupae from the insect pupae container 110 and, inthis example, fluid from the fluid source 112 (discussed in more detailbelow). The other end of the channel 120 is connected to one end of asingulator 130, which narrows the width of the channel to enablesingulation of insect pupae for sensing. Examples of suitablesingulators 130 will be discussed in more detail below with respect toFIGS. 4A-4B and 5-6 .

A sensor 132 is positioned and arranged to sense insect pupae in thesingle-file flow created by the singulator 130, and the other end of thesingulator 130 is connected to an outlet 140 where the singulated insectpupae may be transferred to another container. In this example, thesingulator 130 widens to the width of the outlet, though such aconfiguration is not required. The sensor 132 is in communication with acomputing device 150, which is in communication with a second computingdevice 152. The computing devices 150, 152 collectively execute softwareto receive sensor signals from the sensor 132, count the insect pupaepassing through the singulator 130, and, in some examples, determine oneor more characteristics of one or more of the insect pupae based on thesensor signals.

The example system 100 shown in FIG. 1 employs two computing device 150,152, though it should be appreciated that a single computing device maybe employed in some examples, or more than two computing devices may beused to further apportion various processing tasks. In this example,computing device 150 receives sensor signals, determines when an insectpupae is present in the singulator based on the received sensor signals,increments a count associated with the insect, and determines one ormore characteristics of the pupae, such as its size or its sex. It maythen transmit the count and the characteristic information to the secondcomputing device 152, which may aggregate such information. In someexamples, however, the computing device 150 may provide moreparticularized functionality.

For example, computing device 150 may receive sensor signals from thesensor 132 and may simply store the received sensor signals orinformation extracted from the received sensor signals. Later thecomputing device 150 may provide the extracted information or the storedsensor signals to the second computing device 152, which may thenanalyze it to determine a number of insect pupae detected and, in someexamples, one or more characteristics of the detected insect pupae. Suchan example may be employed where the computing device has limitedprocessing capabilities, but is provided with substantial memory.However, in some examples, computing device 150 may be a specializedcomputing device, such as an FGPA or DSP, that is configured to processreceived sensor data, e.g., image data, to detect insect pupae and toprocessing sensor information, e.g., images, to determine one or morecharacteristics of the detected insect pupae. For example, thespecialized computing device may be an FPGA with a machine learningtechnique, e.g., a neural network, that has been trained to recognizeone or more characteristics of insect pupae based on an input image. Theoutput of the machine learning technique may then be provided to thesecond computing device 152 which may store the characteristics as wellas maintain a count of the total number of insect pupae (or the numberof insect pupae having one or more particular characteristics). Thus,some examples may split processing amongst multiple computing device,including the use of specialized computing devices, to distributeprocessing requirements.

In this example, the sensor 132 includes one or more light emitters andone or more photodetectors, e.g., a photodiode, photoresistor,phototransistor, etc., arranged on opposite sides of the singulator fromeach other. The light emitter(s) emits light across the singulatortowards the photodetector(s), which detects the amount of incoming lightreceived and transmits signals to the computing device 150 indicatingthe amount of incoming light detected. When an insect pupae passesthrough the singulator, it obstructs some of the emitted light, reducingthe amount of light received by the photodetector. The computing device150 may interpret such a reduction in light as an insect pupae. Forexample, if the amount of detected light is reduced below a presetthreshold, the computing device 150 may interpret the sensor signal(s)as indicating the presence of an insect pupae.

While a light emitter/photodetector sensor is described above, othersuitable sensors 132 may be employed, such as image sensors (e.g., acamera), a capacitive sensor, or an ultrasound emitter and detector. Forexample, a camera may be oriented to capture images of the interiorportion of the singulator 130 and capture images of insect pupae as theypass through the singulator 130. Captured images may be transmitted tothe computing device 150, which may provide the images to an imagerecognition technique to recognize when an insect pupae is present inthe singulator. Such a technique may also include an optical flowtechnique that may determine the movement of the insect pupae throughthe singulator, which may prevent the processor from double (triple,etc.) counting the pupae. Other less computationally expensivetechniques may be used instead. For example, the camera may detect anaverage brightness or an average color within the image over one or morecontrol images, or via a preset threshold, and when a captured image hasan average brightness that dips below the threshold, or changes color bya threshold amount, the computing device(s) 150, 152 may determine thatan insect pupae has passed through the singulator 130.

In some examples, a capacitive sensor may be employed. Such a sensor maychange output a signal to the computing device 150 indicating thecapacitance measured by the sensor. When an insect pupae passes over thesensor, it may cause the capacitance to change. When the computingdevice 150 detects that the capacitance has changed by a thresholdamount, it may determine that an insect pupae is present in thesingulator 130. Alternatively, an ultrasound emitter and detector may bearranged to emit ultrasound into the singulator and capture reflectedultrasound waves. The ultrasound detector may transmit one or moresensor signals to the computing device 150, which may determine amagnitude or frequency of the reflected ultrasound waves. If themagnitude or frequency changes by a threshold amount, the computingdevice 150 may determine that an insect pupae is present in thesingulator 130.

In some examples, rather than detecting reflected ultrasound waves, theultrasound emitter and detector may be positioned on opposing sides ofthe singulator 130 such that the ultrasound emitter emits ultrasoundwaves across the singulator towards the ultrasound detector. Theultrasound detector may then transmit sensor signals to the computingdevice 150 based on the detected ultrasound waves. When an insect pupaepasses through the singulator, it may obstruct the emitted ultrasoundwaves, causing a change in the detected ultrasound waves at theultrasound detector. The computing device 150 may then determine thepresence of an insect larvae based on sensor signals from the ultrasounddetector indicating a change in the characteristics of receivedultrasound waves (e.g., a frequency, magnitude, etc.).

In this example, the system 100 also includes a fluid source 112 thatcan be used to supply additional fluid to the channel 120. The fluidsource can be employed to provide a substantially constant fluidpressure within the channel 120 and onto the singulator 130, which mayhelp ensure the singulator 130 operates correctly and to preventclogging or bunching of insect pupae. A fluid source 112 may be anysource of fluid that can provide a substantially constant fluidpressure, such as a fluid pump in combination with a fluid reservoir, arefillable elevated container, a connection to a public water supply,etc. . . . The fluid source may provide any suitable fluid, such aswater.

While this example system 100 employs a fluid channel to transport pupaefrom the insect pupae container 110 to the singulator 130, othersuitable transport mechanisms, such as conveyors may be employed aswell. For example, channel 120 may be a conveyor having one or moreconveyor belts onto which pupae from the insect pupae container 110 aredispensed. The singulator 130 may be positioned within the path of theconveyor such that the transported pupae are forced into and through thesingulator 130, and past the sensor 132, by the conveyor. Such aconveyor may operate at a substantially constant speed to help ensurethat the singulator does not clog or the insect pupae do not bunchtogether when entering the singulator. In some such examples, fluid froma fluid source 112 may be dispensed onto the conveyor to help separateinsect pupae from each other, which may enable more accurate countingand characterizing of the pupae population. Alternatively, or inaddition, insect pupae may be transferred from a conveyor into a fluidchannel prior to reaching the singulator 130.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 shows another example system 200 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. In this example, the insect pupaecontainer 210 is connected to a channel 220 to transport insect pupae220 to multiple singulators 230 a-c that are arranged in parallel toeach other, each of which has an associated sensor 232 a-c to senseinsect pupae passing through the respective singulator 230 a-c. Examplesystems employing multiple singulators may enable a higher-volume ofinsect pupae to be counted and characterized within a given time period.And while the singulators 230 a-c are depicted with a common outlet 240,each singulator 230 a-c may output to a discrete outlet, or a number ofshared outlets, such as to enable dividing the original insect pupaepopulation into smaller subdivided populations. Further, while a singlecomputing device 250 is depicted in this example, which receives sensorsignals from each sensor 232 a-c, in some examples, multiple computingdevices 250 may be employed.

FIG. 2 describes the use of multiple singulators 230 a-c in parallelwith each other. It should be understood that “in parallel” is not usedin the geometric sense. Rather, “in parallel” means the singulators arenot arranged serially. Thus, each singulator 230 a-c receives insectpupae from a channel rather than from another singulator 230 a-c.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , FIG. 3 shows an example singulator 300 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. In this example, the singulator 300 hasa generally hourglass shape with an inlet 322 connected to the channel310 that provides a curved portion to narrow the width of the channel toa neck 324 sized to allow a single insect pupae to pass through the neckat a time. It should be noted that the curved inlet 322 lacks sharpcorners or edges that may snag insect pupae, which may damage the pupaeor cause multiple pupae to bunch together; however, in some examples,the inlet may have corners or uncurved edges.

The neck 324 provides a channel through which a single-file flow ofpupae passes a sensor 330 before being transported to an outlet 340. Inexamples using a fluid flow, the neck portion 324 may be a fluid channelthat is formed as a unitary piece with the curved inlet 322, channel310, and outlet 340; however, in some examples, one or more of thechannel 310, curved inlet 322, neck portion 324, and outlet 340 may beformed as discrete pieces and joined together using a suitableconnecting means, such as an adhesive, welding, staples, screws, rivets,bolts, etc.

In some examples, singulators according to the example singulator 320shown in FIG. 3 may perform more efficiently when the flow of insectpupae is provided with a substantially constant fluid pressure, such asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1 . Such substantially constantfluid pressure may move pupae into and through the singulator, or mayhelp prevent snagging or bunching of the pupae within the channel 310,curved inlet 322 or neck 324 portions of the singulator 320.

In examples employing a conveyor rather than a fluid channel, thesingulator 320 may be positioned against the conveyor to enable insectpupae to interact with the singulator 320. Further, in some examples, afluid may be introduced into the singulator 320 such as within thecurved inlet to help separate or singulate insect pupae from each otheror to prevent clogging or bunching of the insect pupae; however, use ofa fluid is not required.

It should be appreciated that while only one singulator 300 is shown inthis example, multiple such singulators may be arranged in parallel toreceive the flow of insect pupae from the channel 310. For example, thesingulator 300 shown in FIG. 3 may be incorporated into the system 200shown in FIG. 2 in some examples.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4B, FIGS. 4A-4B shows an example singulator400 according to one example. In this example, the singulator 400includes two movable sheets of material 410 a-b that are positionedopposite each other to form a fluid channel between them, and a secondpair of static sheets of material 410 c-d, oriented perpendicular to,and in contact with, the movable sheets of material 410 a-b. Eachmovable sheet of material is connected at one end to a respective rotaryjoint 420 a-b, which are in turn coupled to a respective actuator 430a-b that can rotate the rotary joint and, consequently, its respectivemovable sheet of material 410 a-b. In this example, the singulator isoriented so that the pupae flow is vertical and downward; however anysuitable orientation may be employed.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of one example configuration. Inthis example, the movable sheets of materials 410 a-b are positioned inparallel planes and spaced apart by a few centimeters (“cm”), such as2-3 cm. Each movable sheet of material 410 a-b in this example isapproximately 5 cm tall (in the direction of pupae flow), andapproximately 10 cm wide (in a direction perpendicular to the plane ofthe drawing). In this example, the sheets of material are constructed ofa transparent or translucent plastic material that may providebacklighting to an imaging system that may enhance the quality ofcaptured images; however, any suitable material may be employed,including glass, acrylic, polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), etc. In someexamples, the movable sheets of material 410 a-b are non-porous andnon-absorbent, though porous or absorbent materials may be employed insome examples.

In addition to the movable sheets of material 410 a-b, the singulatoralso includes two additional static sheets of material 410 c-d (shownwith dashed lines) positioned in planes perpendicular to the movablesheets of material 410 a-b. The static sheets of material 410 c-d formadditional boundaries for the fluid channel defined between the movablesheets of material 410 a-b. Thus, in this example, the movable sheets ofmaterials 410 a-b are in contact with the static sheets of material 410c-d, but are not affixed to them. Rather the movable sheets of material410 a-b are configured to rotate about their respective rotary joints420 a-b, as will be discussed in more detail below. The contact betweenthe movable and static sheets of material 410 a-d may or may not befluid tight; however, the contact is sufficient to prevent movement ofan pupa through any gap between a moveable sheet of material 410 a-b anda static sheet of material 410 c-d, thereby preventing escape of a pupathrough such a gap. The static sheets of material 410 c-d may be formedof any suitable material, such as any of those discussed above withrespect to the movable sheets of material 410 a-b.

As discussed above, the movable sheets of material 410 a-b are coupledto a respective rotary joint 420 a-b, such as a hinge. The actuators 430a-b are configured to rotate the movable sheets of material 410 a-baround their respective rotary joint 420 a-b between to positions. Andwhile two actuators are shown in this example, one actuator may besufficient in some examples, or more than two actuators may be employed,as needed. The first position is shown in FIG. 4A, in which the twomovable sheets of material 410 a-b are substantially parallel to eachother, thereby forming a gap between them having a substantiallyconstant width. In the second position, the two movable sheets ofmaterials 410 a-b are oriented such that the distal ends of the movablesheets of material 410 a-b are nearer each other than the proximal ends,which are affixed to the rotary joints 420 a-b, thereby forming awedge-shaped gap. In this example, the second position, illustrated inFIG. 4B, provides a distal opening approximately the width of an averagepupa of an insect pupae population. For example, if the insect pupaepopulation includes Aedes aegypti pupa, the distal gap shown in FIG. 4Bis approximately the width of an average Aedes aegypti pupa. However,any suitable gap may be employed according to design requirements.

In this example, a sensor 440 is positioned adjacent to the distal gapformed by the movable sheets of material 410 a-b to sense pupae as theypass through the distal gap. In this example, the sensor 440 is a camerathat captures video images of the distal gap as pupae fall through thegap. The captured images are transmitted to a computing device (notshown), which employs an image recognition technique to recognize andcount individual insect pupae, as well as an optical flow technique toensure insect pupae are counted only once. In addition, the computingdevice may also detect one or more characteristics of one or more of theinsect pupae, such as the characteristics discussed above (e.g., size,shape, sex, etc.).

In this example, the actuators 430 a-b are stepper motors coupled to arespective rotary joint 420 a-b. The actuators 430 are controlled by thecomputing device and move between the two positions shown in FIGS. 4A-4Bin response to signals transmitted by the computing device. In thisexample, the computer outputs a signal to cause the actuators 430 a-b tomove the movable sheets of materials 410 a-b into the first positionshown in FIG. 4A between populations of insect pupae. For example, thefirst position may be employed to flush the singulator 400 with a fluid,such as water, to prepare the singulator for the next pupae population.The computing device then outputs another signal to cause the actuators430 a-b to move the movable sheets of materials 410 a-b into the secondposition shown in FIG. 4B to receive a population of insect pupae.

When configured as shown in FIG. 4B, the singulator receives a flow ofinsect pupae, such as in a fluid medium like water. The flow of insectpupae enters the top of the singulator, between the rotary joints 420a-b and descends through the fluid channel defined by the sheets ofmaterial 410 a-d to the narrow gap at the bottom. The insect pupae thenpass through the distal gap and pass by the sensor 440, which detectseach insect pupa and transmit sensor signals to the computing device,which counts each insect pupa and, in some examples, determines one ormore characteristics of detected insect pupae. As the pupae flow throughthe singulator, additional fluid may flow into the singulator to helpthe insect pupae move downward through the singulator 400, though suchadditional fluid flow is not required in some examples. It should beappreciated that, while the distal gap has a width based on an averagepupa size for a predetermined insect pupae population, multiple insectpupae may pass through the distal gap at a time, separated along thelength of the distal gap. To enable sensing of the insect pupae passingthrough the distal gap, the sensor 440 may include multiple sensorelements, such as multiple light emitters or detectors, or a camera maybe positioned to capture the entire length of the distal gap.

After the entire population of insect pupae has passed through thesingulator, the singulator may again return to the first position shownin FIG. 4A, where it may be flushed again with a fluid in preparationfor the next population of insect pupae.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , FIG. 5 shows an example system 500 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. In this example, the system 500includes an insect pupae container 501 connected to a channel 510. In aside edge of the channel 510, an air outlet 524 is positioned to blowpressurized air into the channel, thereby creating one or more airbubbles within a fluid flowing through the channel 510. The air outlet524 is connected by an air hose to a pressurized air source 522, such asan air tank or air pump. A sensor 530 is positioned above or within thechannel 510 and is oriented to sense insect pupae flowing through thechannel 510 and past the sensor 530, and to send sensor signals to thecomputing device 540. The channel 510 proceeds past the sensor 530 andinto an outlet 550.

In this example, the singulator 520 includes the air source 522 and theair outlet 524. The singulator 520 singulates insect pupa within thechannel 510 by creating a series of air bubbles in a fluid flowingthrough the channel. The air bubbles may be interspersed between insectpupae, thereby separating and singulating them. Specifically, thesurface tension in the fluid created by the air bubble may prevent theinsect pupae from passing around the bubble or otherwise escaping fromthe fluid region between successive bubbles, thereby ensuring that theinsect pupae arrives at the sensor alone, rather than having moved intoan adjacent pupae's fluid region. It should be appreciated, however,that the singulator 520 shown in FIG. 5 may be incorporated into othersingulators according to this disclosure, such as the examples shown inFIGS. 1-4 . To create such a combination, the air outlet 524 may bepositioned within, for example, the curved inlet 322 or neck portion 324of the singulator 300 shown in FIG. 3 to further help separate andsingulate insect pupae flowing through the singulator. Similarly, withrespect to FIG. 4 , one or more air outlets 524 may be positioned near adistal end of one or both movable sheets of material 410 a-b to createair bubbles in a fluid flow of insect pupae passing through thesingulator 400. The introduction of air bubbles in such an example mayfurther help separate and singulate insect pupae, and may assistmovement of the pupae through the distal gap.

In this example, the air outlet or pressurized air source are computercontrolled to create air bubbles only in response to a signal output bya computing device. For example, the computing device may control anactuator to open and control a valve to control the flow of pressurizedair from the air outlet 524. However, in some examples, the pressurizedair source 522 may simply provide a substantially constant air pressureat the air outlet to create a substantially constant stream of airbubbles in a fluid flow.

In this example, the sensor 530 is a camera oriented to capture imagesor video of the flow of insect pupae past the sensor 530. The capturedimages may then be transmitted to a computing device 540 to detectindividual insect pupae, count them, and in some examples, determine oneor more characteristics of the insect pupae. And while this exampleemploys a camera, the sensor 530 may be any suitable sensor, such as anydiscussed above.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , FIG. 6 shows an example system 600 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing. The system 600 includes an insect pupaecontainer 601 connected to a channel 610. A singulator structure havingmultiple singulators 620 a-d is positioned to receive a flow of insectpupae from the channel 610 and to singulate the insect pupae flowingthrough the channel. The singulators 620 a-d are arranged in paralleland form a manifold structure, similar to the system 200 shown in FIG. 2. This singulators 620 a-d may be any suitable singulator according tothis disclosure; however, in this example, the singulators 620 a-d areformed as wedges to narrow the flow of insect pupae to allow only asingle pupae past the respective sensor 630 a-d of a particularsingulator 620 a-d. The singulators 620 a-d then output the insect pupaeinto an outlet 650, where they may be collected or moved to anotherrearing environment.

The sensors 630 a-d provide sensor signals to the computing device 640,which counts insect pupae based on the received sensor signals and, insome examples, may determine one or more characteristics of pupae withinthe flow of insect pupae. In this example, the sensors 630 a-d eachinclude a camera, which captures images or video of insect pupae passingthrough a respective singulator 620 a-d; however, any suitable sensoraccording to this disclosure may be employed.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , FIG. 7 shows an example method 700 forcontinuous insect pupae sensing according to this disclosure. Theexample method 700 will be discussed with respect to the system 100shown in FIG. 1 ; however, it should be appreciated that any suitablesystem for continuous insect pupae sensing may be employed.

At block 710, the channel 120 receives a flow of insect pupae from theinsect pupae container 110. In addition, fluid is dispensed from thefluid source 112 into the channel 120 to help move the insect pupaethrough the channel to the singulator 130. The flow of insect pupae,including the fluid, is then received by at the singulator 130. While afluid flow of insect pupae is employed in this example, it should beappreciated that the flow may be transported to the singulator by aconveyor device, as discussed above.

At block 720, the singulator singulates the insect pupae into asubstantially single-file flow of insect pupae. As discussed above, anysuitable singulator according to this disclosure may be employed, suchas any of the singulators disclosed above with respect to FIGS. 3-6 . Inone example employing the singulator 400 shown in FIGS. 4A-4B, prior toblock 720, the movable sheets of material 410 a-b may be moved into thesecond position shown in FIG. 4B to create a distal gap sized to thewidth of an average insect pupa of the insect pupae population, asdiscussed above.

At block 730, the system 100 senses, using the sensor 132, insect pupaewithin the single-file flow of insect pupae. In one example, a lightsensor may detect variations in light intensity as insect pupae pass thesensor. In an example employing a camera, the camera may capture imagesor video of insect pupae flowing through the singulator 130 and transmitthe captured images or video to the computing device 150, which may thenemploy an image recognition technique to sense individual insect pupae.In one such example, the computing device may further employ an opticalflow technique to prevent duplicate sensing of a single insect pupa.

At block 740, the computing device 150 increments a counter based oneach sensed insect pupae in the single-file flow of insect pupae. Inthis example, the computing device 150 resets its counter before a newflow of insect pupae is flowed into the channel 120 and through thesingulator 130; however, in some examples, the computing device 150 maymaintain a running count of all sensed insect pupae from multiplepopulations of insect pupae.

At block 750, the computing device 150 determine one or morecharacteristics of one or more insect pupae. In this example, thecomputing device 150 determines the one or more characteristics based onone or more received sensor signals. For example, if the sensor is acamera, the computing device 150 may employ one or more imagerecognition techniques, which may include one or more trainedmachine-learning models, to recognize characteristics of an insect pupa.For example, the computing device 150 may determine a size of an insectpupae based on a width of the insect pupae in pixels within the image,or based on a distance between a head and tail of the insect pupae usingthe image recognition technique. The computing device may determine asex of an insect pupa based on one or more physical characteristics. Forexample, Aedes aegypti pupae exhibit sexual dimorphism, enabling animage recognition technique to identify physical characteristicsindicative of either a male or female insect pupa, which include size orother physical features of the insect pupae. In some examples, thecomputing device 150 may be able to identify anomalies in an insectpupa, such as an abnormal growth or whether the pupa is intact, damaged,alive, or dead. For example, one or more missing body parts may indicatephysical damage to the pupa or may indicate that the pupa is likelydead. An image recognition technique may detect an abnormal growth basedon difference between a normal pupa shape or outline and the shape oroutline of a pupa in a captured image.

In some examples, characteristics may be determined using other types ofsensors. For example, one or more light detectors may be employed todetermine a size of an insect pupa, such as based on a number of lightdetectors detecting a reduction in received light, or an amount ofchange in received light. If the sensor 132 employs a 10×10 grid oflight sensors, an insect pupa that obstructs a 5×3 portion of the gridmay indicate one size, while an insect pupa that obstructs a 6×4 portionto the grid may indicate another size. Further, the computing device 150may determine a characteristic, such as a sex of an insect pupa based onsuch information. For example, in examples where female pupae of aninsect species are larger than the male pupae, differences in sized maybe employed to determine a sex of a particular pupa (or a probability ofthe sex of the pupa).

At block 760, the computing device 150 stores records for the sensedinsect pupae. In one example, the computing device 150 may storeaggregated information for a particular pupae population, such aspopulation-level statistics for size, sex, abnormalities, etc., In someexamples, the computing device 150 may store an individual record foreach insect pupae, which may include an identification number (e.g., apopulation number in combination with a count number), an image of thepupa (if available), and one or more detected characteristics of thepupa, such as a size, sex, etc. Such information may enableindividualized review of a particular population. For example, therecords may be filtered to enable review of insect pupae having abelow-normal size, one or more physical abnormalities, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 shows an example computing device 800suitable for use in example systems or methods for continuous insectpupae sensing according to this disclosure. The example computing device800 includes a processor 810 which is in communication with the memory820 and other components of the computing device 800 using one or morecommunications buses 802. The processor 810 is configured to executeprocessor-executable instructions stored in the memory 820 to providecontinuous insect pupae sensing, such as part or all of the examplemethod 700 described above with respect to FIG. 7 . The computing device800, in this example, also includes one or more user input devices 870,such as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, microphone, etc., to accept userinput. The computing device 800 also includes a 860 display to providevisual output to a user.

The computing device 800 also includes a communications interface 840.In some examples, the communications interface 840 may enablecommunications using one or more networks, including a local areanetwork (“LAN”); wide area network (“WAN”), such as the Internet;metropolitan area network (“MAN”); point-to-point or peer-to-peerconnection; etc. Communication with other devices may be accomplishedusing any suitable networking protocol. For example, one suitablenetworking protocol may include the Internet Protocol (“IP”),Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”),or combinations thereof, such as TCP/IP or UDP/IP.

While some examples of methods and systems herein are described in termsof software executing on various machines, the methods and systems mayalso be implemented as specifically-configured hardware, such asfield-programmable gate array (FPGA) specifically to execute the variousmethods. For example, examples can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in acombination thereof. In one example, a device may include a processor orprocessors. The processor comprises a computer-readable medium, such asa random access memory (RAM) coupled to the processor. The processorexecutes computer-executable program instructions stored in memory, suchas executing one or more computer programs. Such processors may comprisea microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), and state machines. Such processors may further compriseprogrammable electronic devices such as PLCs, programmable interruptcontrollers (PICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmableread-only memories (PROMs), electronically programmable read-onlymemories (EPROMs or EEPROMs), or other similar devices.

Such processors may comprise, or may be in communication with, media,for example computer-readable storage media, that may store instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, can cause the processor to performthe steps described herein as carried out, or assisted, by a processor.Examples of computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to,an electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable ofproviding a processor, such as the processor in a web server, withcomputer-readable instructions. Other examples of media comprise, butare not limited to, a floppy disk, CD-ROM, magnetic disk, memory chip,ROM, RAM, ASIC, configured processor, all optical media, all magnetictape or other magnetic media, or any other medium from which a computerprocessor can read. The processor, and the processing, described may bein one or more structures, and may be dispersed through one or morestructures. The processor may comprise code for carrying out one or moreof the methods (or parts of methods) described herein.

The foregoing description of some examples has been presented only forthe purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed.Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

Reference herein to an example or implementation means that a particularfeature, structure, operation, or other characteristic described inconnection with the example may be included in at least oneimplementation of the disclosure. The disclosure is not restricted tothe particular examples or implementations described as such. Theappearance of the phrases “in one example,” “in an example,” “in oneimplementation,” or “in an implementation,” or variations of the same invarious places in the specification does not necessarily refer to thesame example or implementation. Any particular feature, structure,operation, or other characteristic described in this specification inrelation to one example or implementation may be combined with otherfeatures, structures, operations, or other characteristics described inrespect of any other example or implementation.

Use herein of the word “or” is intended to cover inclusive and exclusiveOR conditions. In other words, A or B or C includes any or all of thefollowing alternative combinations as appropriate for a particularusage: A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B only; A and C only; B and Conly; and A and B and C.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a flow at asingulator, the flow comprising a liquid and a plurality of insectpupae; singulating the insect pupae into a single-file flow of insectpupae; sensing, using a sensor, insect pupae within the single-file flowof insect pupae; and incrementing a counter based on each sensed insectpupae in the single-file flow of insect pupae.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the flow comprises water and the plurality of insect pupae. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the flow is carried by a conveyor belt.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising capturing an image of an insectpupa, and determining a characteristic of the insect pupa based on theimage.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the characteristic comprises asex, a size, or an anomaly.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprisingcapturing an image of each sensed insect pupae, and determining one ormore characteristics of each sensed insect pupae.
 8. The method of claim5, further comprising creating and storing a record for the insect pupa,the record comprising the characteristic and the image.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a photodetector.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sensor comprises two conductive plates and sensingthe insect pupae comprises determining a change in capacitance betweenthe two conductive plates.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thesingulator comprises an hourglass shape having a neck portion, the neckportion sized to allow a single insect pupae to pass at a time, andwherein singulating the insect pupae comprises applying a substantiallyconstant pressure to the flow of insect pupae.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the singulator comprises a first and second sheet ofmaterial, the first sheet of material positioned below the second sheetforming a wedge arrangement using the first and second sheets ofmaterial, and oriented such that a gap between the first and secondsheets of material within the wedge arrangement narrows from one edge ofthe first sheet to the opposite end to a width of a single insect pupae.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the singulator comprises a channeland an air outlet, and wherein singulating the insect pupae comprisesflowing the flow of insect pupae through the channel, and forming one ormore bubbles in the flow of insect pupae between inset pupae byoutputting puffs of air from the air outlet.
 14. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving the flow of insect pupae at a plurality ofsingulators in parallel, and at each singulator: singulating the insectpupae from the received flow of insect pupae into a single-file flow ofinsect pupae; sensing insect pupae within the single-file flow of insectpupae; and incrementing the counter associated based on a number ofsensed insect pupae in the respective single-file flow of insect pupae.15. A system comprising: a channel defining a flow path for a flow ofinsect pupae, the flow comprising a liquid and a plurality of insectpupae; a singulator positioned within the flow path and arranged toreceive the flow of insect pupae within the channel, the singulatorconfigured to singulate the insect pupae into a single-file flow ofinsect pupae; a sensor positioned and arranged to sense insect pupae inthe single-file flow; and a processor in communication with the sensorand a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configuredto execute processor-executable instructions stored in thenon-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive sensor signals fromthe sensor; and count a number of insect pupae based on the receivedsensor signals.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the flow of insectpupae comprises water and one or more insect pupae.
 17. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising a conveyor belt defining the channel,wherein the conveyor belt is configured to convey the flow of insectpupae.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the sensor comprises acamera.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is configuredto execute processor-executable instructions stored in thenon-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive an image of aninsect pupa, and determine a characteristic of the insect pupa based onthe image.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the characteristiccomprises a sex, a size, or an anomaly.
 21. The system of claim 20,wherein the processor is configured to execute processor-executableinstructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to:receive images of each sensed insect pupae, and determine one or morecharacteristics of each sensed insect pupae.
 22. The system of claim 19,wherein the processor is configured to execute processor-executableinstructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium tocreate and store a record for the insect pupa, the record comprising thecharacteristic and the image.
 23. The system of claim 15, wherein thesensor comprises a photodetector.
 24. The system of claim 15, whereinthe sensor comprises two conductive plates and the sensor signalscomprises an indication of capacitance, and wherein the processor isconfigured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in thenon-transitory computer-readable medium to: determine a change incapacitance between the two conductive plates based on the receivedsensor signals, and count the number of insect pupae based on the changein capacitance.
 25. The system of claim 15, wherein the singulatorcomprises an hourglass shape having a neck portion, the neck portionsized to allow a single insect pupae to pass at a time, and wherein thesystem is configured to apply a substantially constant pressure to theflow of insect pupae.
 26. The system of claim 15, wherein the singulatorcomprises a first and second sheet of material, the first sheet ofmaterial positioned below the second sheet forming a wedge arrangementusing the first and second sheets of material, and oriented such that agap between the first and second sheets of material within the wedgearrangement narrows from one edge of the first sheet to the opposite endto a width of a single insect pupae.
 27. The system of claim 15, whereinthe system comprises an air source and the singulator comprises an airoutlet, and wherein the singulator is configured output puffs of airfrom the air outlet to form one or more bubbles in the flow of insectpupae between inset pupae.
 28. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a plurality of singulators arranged in parallel to eachother, and a plurality of sensors, at least one sensor of the pluralityof sensors positioned at each singulator of the plurality ofsingulators, and wherein the processor is configured to executeprocessor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium to: receive sensor signals from each of theplurality of sensors, and count the number of insect pupae based on thereceived sensor signals from each of the plurality of sensors.
 29. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the processor is a first processor andfurther comprising a second processor, the second processor configuredto receive one or more sensor signals, determine a characteristic of aninsect pupa based on the one or more sensor signals, and provide thecharacteristic to the first processor.